Schwarzer happy to have turned down Juve and Bayern for surprising life at Fulham

Having dismissed Fulham as Premier League no-hopers barely a year ago, Mark Schwarzer has revealed how he is now pleased he was persuaded to become part of the club's remarkable revival that may yet see it qualify for Europe.

The summer signing of Schwarzer from Middlesbrough was just one of the astute moves made by manager Roy Hodgson that have transformed Fulham from being relegation fodder into consistent performers in the top half of the table.

The big Australian goalkeeper has been the bedrock of a defence that boasts the fourth best goals-conceded record in the league. And he was at his brilliant best on Saturday when successive point-blank saves from Ji-Sung Park and Wayne Rooney helped Fulham clinch a shock victory over Manchester United that blew the title race wide open.

In fine form: Schwarzer produced a great performance for Fulham to keep Manchester United scoreless

While Boro are now struggling to beat the drop, Schwarzer and his new
team-mates find themselves ninth — just one point off the seventh place
that will almost certainly earn a place in the new Europa Cup
competition next season.

Schwarzer, who also considered offers to move to Bayern Munich and
Juventus when he ended an 11-year association with Middlesbrough, puts
his current good fortune down to the persuasive powers of Hodgson.

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Still fit and agile at 36, he said: 'Towards the end of last season
most people were writing Fulham off, and I was one of them. Around
February time, when I was at Boro, I remember thinking Fulham had no
chance of surviving.

'But they created that amazing feat, staying up, and then, when I came
down to speak Roy Hodgson, I realised he had plans, that he wanted to
turn the club around and make it into a strong team and really look up
towards the top half of the table.

Great turnaround: Roy Hodgson guided Fulham to safety last season and is now eyeing a place in Europe after this season

'This season we've consolidated very well, we've played very good
football and I think it's right we're in the position we're in.'

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Schwarzer, hoping that a win over Uzbekistan in Sydney next Wednesday
will all but clinch World Cup qualification for the Socceroos, credits
the team spirit inspired by Hodgson for the turnaround in Fulham's
fortunes.

He said: 'It's fantastic to have that type of manager who encourages
you and gives you self-belief, so that if you make a mistake you just
get your head down and rectify it. Everyone is pulling in the right
direction, everyone is supporting each other, guys are covering each
other in case there are mistakes.

'From the front line to the back line we're defending as a team and
that shows with the amount of clean sheets we've had this season. Our
defensive record is outstanding and that is credit to the full team,
not just the back four and the goalkeeper.

Socceroo: Schwarzer is hoping to head to a second consecutive World Cup with Australia

'Now we have 40 points, and everyone talks about 40 points being in the
safe zone. When you think about what Fulham went through last season,
to be where we are now is a credit to everyone at the club.'

And they're not finished yet. Schwarzer said: 'There's eight games to
go and we definitely want to finish in the top half of the table.

'But I'm also hoping for two of the top four teams to be in the FA Cup
Final so another place in Europe goes to a finishing position in the
league — that would open it up.'

It is typical of the confidence now coursing through Craven Cottage
that Fulham's next fixture, at home to Liverpool on Saturday week,
holds few fears for Schwarzer.

'It's a massive game,' he said. 'But hopefully we can perform equally well against them as we did against Manchester United.'